high flyer 777

Well I had this entire Summer off and I got hooked on flying. Both heli's & planes. Didn't get much plane flying in though.
The Summer goes fast in Minnesota. The heli's kept me busy and on my toes trying to learn how to fly em'.
I got some steals on Ebay on some planes. Mostly beginner planes as far as you advanced flyers go. What I would like
to do is get 1 decent radio to use for all 4 planes. I don't want over kill, but I don't want to take a step down in a
radio when I would have been happier to have gotten the step up in the long run. You know what I mean. Besides the
radio, what else would I need to fly all 4 planes & what would I need to do to make this happen with this one radio.
Would it really be advantageous to get an upgrade radio for these planes over the factory radio? How so?

These are the planes I have :
Phoenix 2000 - 4 channel
Air Begin - 4 channel
Sky Fly - 3 channel
Wing Dragon - 3 channel

Leo L

Buy 1 transmitter and as many receivers as you have planes. Most computer radios have a memory that will keep 10 or more models. Just name the models and when you are ready to fly, set the radio to the proper model. If you decide to go with a no-frills non-computer radio, you will need to remember the various settings for each model. I use the ParkZone Typhoon radio to fly several different planes. I keep a little card to remind me which plane has reversed ailerons, which one has reversed rudder, which one has slightly up elevator trim tab, etc. Its a bit of a pain, but the radio came with my Typhoon and the receivers are only $26 each. If I'm going to spend $200, I'd rather get several planes than one radio.

Of the planes that you have, I wouldn't bother changing the radio on the SkyFly. Use it as your first plane just the way that it comes. The 3 channel Wing Dragon will be a very simple step up from the SkyFly, and the 4 channel Begin Air is a nioce way to start flying with ailerons. Both of these can be flown with the radio that they come with, but if you have the extra bucks, I would put the better receivers in them. Hold off flying the Phoenix until you are very comfortable flying the 4-channel Begin Air. I would definitely put a good radio into the Phoenix.

high flyer 777

Leo, thanks for taking the time to answer my question about my planes. What computer radios would you go with though?

mrasmm

it really depends on your budget and what kind of features you want, and if'll you'll be moving to bigger and better planes down the road. The basic advice for Tx's is get the best one you can afford.

The new spectrum technology is really nice because you no longer have channels (the Tx and Rx switch them by themselves), and they are pretty much immune to interference.

Futaba has a fasst model I think it is the 6EXH and then there is the DX6 and the DX7.

If you want to go with standard 72mhz, you can often find really good deals on ebay. You just have to pick your line, either airtronics and jr or futaba and hitec compatible, positive and negative shift respectively. Just pick one that has atleast the channels you are looking for, and the mixing features you are looking for as well. Basically just get the best model that you can afford =)

high flyer 777

With the spectrum technology, does that mean you can use the factory receivers in each plane? Or should you, or do you need
to swap them out?
Does it matter what mhz you pick?
Does it matter what channels you pick?
Should the radio be a 6 channel radio?
Sorry, you're talking w/a newbee here. Got into heli's too. That's going pretty well. I just need a good foundation and I'll be
able to get it. Thanks for the help. Looking forward to your answers.

mrasmm

if you're into heli, yes you will need atleast a 6h radio, and one with ccpm functions as well =)

72mhz here in the states is standard

about swapping out the radio's in the RTF's or whatever, it really all depends on the plane and what modulation they use. You might have to swap them out no matter what, but yes if you go with a spectrum radio you'll need new receivers for all the planes.

no problemo =) No one learns without asking q's. Hopefully that answered all of yours =)

high flyer 777

I have 5 heil's. I was thinking about getting one radio that I could use with both the planes & heli's. Not sure which avenue
to take. Meaning I don't know how much $'s I should put into a radio for these particulair planes & heli's, and if I reallly
want to use just one radio for both the planes & heli's. Most of these are stepping stone aircraft and I can surely step up
when I get the experience I need to make the next step. What I have now 5 heli's & 4 planes should keep me pretty busy
for awhile. Again, I dont' know if I should get a seperate radio for my heil's and one for the planes, or if some of the radios
are just worth not stepping up to a better radio and will be just fine? The planes I have are listed on this thread. The best
heli I own is a HBK2.

mrasmm

the hbk2 is futaba compatible

Honestly i would get the best radio you can afford and share it between the two and get a couple of battery packs for it. You'll really like the better features and wonder how you did without them. The dx7 and the new dx6i that I dunno if it's out yet have the really nice feature that they will not let you take off unless you have the model's settings pulled up in the Tx that you are flying.

With the 72mhz systems and some other DSM systems like the dx6 you have to double and tripple check that you have got the right model pulled up in memory on the Tx before you take off. More flight damage happens that way than anyone would like to admit.

With that said, I would probably recommend either the dx6i or the dx7. You might also check out futaba and JR's 2.4ghz DSM systems and see if they have simular features, which they probably do. Good luck =)

BTW I think receivers for the spectrum DSM setups are about 50 to 60 bucks each.

high flyer 777

So would it be worth the while to jump into the new Futaba 6 EX 2.4 Hz FASST computer radio to run everthing I have?
Which 6 EX raidio? Which servos? Which receivers?
How about an old school guy like me trying to program and set everything up. Heck, I barely can run a home
computer. Thanks much for your help!

mrasmm

as far as the servo's, just leave whatever you've got in it. As far as the receivers, I don't really know alot in that dept, but alot of people are going with the AR6000 and the AR6100

As far as the Tx programming, if you want one that will control all of them, you're probably gona have to go with a computer radio. If you're not the best with picking up new gagety high tech stuff, the DX series would be great for you because most aircraft out there have several people that fly it on a spectrum and will post the settings that they are using with it.

Yeah I guess the futaba system that I was talking about was the 6EX fasst not the 6EXH =) I'm not too familiar with that one other than it changes channels every 2ms, so that's 50 times per second, so it is even more immune to interference than the spectrum models. Honestly though for the sake of programing and popularity so you can get help if you get stuck, the DX models would probably better fit your needs. It's all up to you =)

here are the links for the futaba fasst systems. I'm not very familiar with their receivers or if they have the same model ID features that the DX7 and DX6i have, but check em out
http://2.4gigahertz.com/systems/radiosystems.html

high flyer 777

Thanks much for all the good info. I purchased "Ray's heli dvd series and he went over the DX6 & DX7 models as far
as having to with set-up on heli's, not planes. He raved about the DX7 big time. Enough that that's the one he wanted
on his dvd series.

high flyer 777

Would I be going overboard in getting the Fubata EX 2.4 GHz radio? I have the 4 planes, plus 4 Esky helicopters.
If so, which model EX radio?

vmsguy

You may wish to consider using one transmitter for your helicopters, and a different radio for your planes. Some radios are Airplane only. Others are Heli only.

Some radios are programmable for either.

But I'm thinking more along the lines of your mental sanity. Get a DX6 or DX7 for your Helis, like the video, then get a Futaba, or something else for your planes. You will avoid confusion.

Also, going this route, you might be able so score a radio(s) cheaply on ebay. Once you get your transmitter, then you only need buy extra receivers to match. You might actually end up cheaper.

high flyer 777

I like the mental sanity part. I was thinking about seperated radios, one for planes, one for heli's. Just wanted to get some of
your guys experience and input.
You mentioned the DX6 & DX& for heli's. What about the Fubata radio for planes? Is the new EX 2.4GHz FASST overkill?

vmsguy

I don't think so.. but then again, I just bought one myself. It controls 6 channels, has (If memory serves) 6 plane memory. It should handle all your trainer, and at least intermediate level planes. It allow mixing (though I haven't gotten into that yet) so you can do stuff like flaperons, elevons and v-tails.

What I like most about it? The two antennas are like 6 inches long each. No longer need the antenna sticking out the model. Especially nice on smaller planes.

The receivers are a bit more expensive. But if you consider a 72MHz receiver and a crystal, a 2.4 receiver isn't THAT much more.

high flyer 777

So you just purchased the new Fubata EX FAAST radio? How long have you had it? Is it difficult to program?
How about for a rookie like myself?

vmsguy

Yes, just purchased it.
Had it only a couple weeks.
Not too bad to program. I had issues when I went to the field Saturday. I had to reverse the throttle and rudder servos. Hard to read the manual, and answer questions from three different people, and listen to yet another three conversations all at the same time. But there are diagrams in the back of the manual that progress you through the various options.

Rookie?? I've had a entire 3 seconds stick time in my RC flying career so far!

high flyer 777

I just took up R/C flying this past Spring. Addicting!!!! I actually started w/heli's. Love em' to death. Got a mess of planes
of Ebay & some of the web store sites. Flew one of the planes just a bit, mostly been trying to get the heli's down. Have
masted the coax, now I'm working on the tail rotor types. (the real heli's) Very challenging, frustrating, but very rewarding.
I like anything that takes flight. Heck even those paracopters look cool. There's a huge acerage city property only about
3 miles from my place. Problem is I live in MN, leaves are coming down already. We'll probably have maybe 2-3 weeks
that we can really get outside and fly. I do alot of practicing heli's in my living room when the weather's not right also.
Let me know how that radio works out. Give me some tips and pointers. I want one of those radios!

high flyer 777

O.k. I don't mean to beat this dead horse into the ground. But let me ask this.
I can get a pretty good deal on a Futaba 4 EXA and a 6EXAP. Would I be
happy to have either for my 4 planes I mentioned?

vmsguy

Get the 6 channel, if you get either of them.

You'll regret having ONLY 4 channels at some point. Maybe not right away. But at some point, you WILL regret it.

high flyer 777

Is the Fubata 6EXAP an older model radio? Don't see that model listed in Towerhobbies